Never, ever, go through a manufacturer for RMA when you're in a 30 day return window. I can't remember what NCIX return policy is, but if you can do that, do it. If you RMA to manufacturer you will be at their mercy for weeks. DONT DO THIS. I know people will complain about asus and while i've never had problems, this applies to all AIB manufacturers. Do. NOT. RMA to manufacturer if you're in a 30 day return period! Get a refund instead to reset your 30 day window. Increase your customer purchasing rights. RMA'ing to manufacturer lowers your rights as a customer, and you may wait weeks and get a refurbed card in return. DO NOT DO THIS.
Pretty simple choice. Refund = more customer rights, reset your 30 day purchase window. RMA to asus or whoever else = you're at their mercy, best of luck. Decreased customer rights.
The point of sale will always, without exception, regardless of brand, be less hassle than RMAing to mfgr. Even EVGA who is considered by many to be the best CS/RMA policy of anyone - I still would not RMA to them in a 30 day window. Because who knows how fast their T/A will be, whether they charge you for shipping, and whether you get a refurbed card in return. Now EVGA is great. But they're not preferable to refund to point of sale, not by a long shot. There are too many variables which are annoying to deal with, such as shipping costs, turnaround time, etc etc etc.
By the way, even if you're RMA'ing the card - do not ignore the advice of either getting a non POS chassis or improving your air flow significantly. That's going to increase your temps by 10-15C or more, because frankly, your chassis and air flow sucks. Now the card could well be bad. But the chassis isn't helping matters. And don't put a card directly underneath it. You don't do that with aftermarket cooled open air cards.
So return it to NCIX if you're able if you can avoid restocking fees, get a refund. Buy a new card, reset your 30 day window. Buy a new GPU of your choice, it can be the same card or you can find whatever GPU you want. Then. I would suggest buying a case that doesn't suck. Or at the least, a ton of fans. It's up to you. But like I said, the card may be bad but the chassis certainly isn't doing you any favors either. Especially with a card directly under your open air cooled GPU. Just my advice, definitely look into it. I think your case is beyond saving because the positioning of your frontal HD cages is truly awful for air flow. The alternative of course is to get a reference blower type cooler, which doesn't exhaust hot air in your case. But, I think the chassis and air flow would be the better option for a 290X custom GPU rather than a reference 290X.